Minority Business Assistance Centers
The Department of Development Minority Business Development Division supports the growth and sustainability of small, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses in Ohio.
Supporting these businesses means providing them with resources that include technical and professional assistance, access to capital, surety bonding, and connection to business opportunities through the assistance of the Minority Business Assistance Centers (MBAC). The Division leverages these resources to support the achievement of the state's 15% Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) set-aside requirement.
The Division works with entrepreneurs and emerging business enterprises to help them achieve scale and market success. The overarching goal is to help small, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses contribute to job creation and economic growth in Ohio.
The Centers provide the following services:
- Accounting assistance
- Business management counseling
- Completing federal, state, and local certification applications
- Contract procurement assistance
- Estimating/bidding assistance
- Identifying local resources
- Loan packaging assistance
- Marketing plan development
- Referrals to financial assistance programs
MBAC Frequently Asked Questions
What is the goal of the MBAC?
Their primary goal is to identify emerging minority-owned businesses and cultivate their growth and sustainability. Professional MBAC staff work with owners of existing businesses, startups, certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), certified Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity (EDGE) businesses, and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.
How much does it cost to receive services from the MBAC?
These services are available without cost to businesses located throughout Ohio.
What is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)?
MBEs are defined as businesses that are at least 51 percent owned and controlled for more than a year by an Ohio resident and U.S. citizen who belongs to one of the following ethnic groups: African American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American.
What is an Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity (EDGE) business?
EDGE-certified businesses are defined as enterprises that are owned by economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
What is a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)?
WBEs are defined as businesses that are at least 51 percent owned and controlled by a woman who is a U.S. citizen and has an established residency in the state of Ohio or a reciprocal state.
What is a Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise (VBE)?
VBEs must meet one of the these criteria: at least 10% of its employees are veterans or on active service; at least 51% of the applicant business is owned by veterans or persons on active service; if the applicant business is a corporation 51% of which is not owned by veterans or persons on active service, at least 51% of the board of directors must be veterans or persons on active service; the business is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business or a Veteran-Owned Small Business and the owner(s) of the business meets the definition of veteran as defined in Ohio Administrative Code.
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Akron
■ Summit County
Akron Community Service Center and Urban League
440 Vernon Odom Boulevard
Akron, Ohio 44307
(234) 542-4145
♦ Richland County
North End Community Improvement
Collaborative (NECIC)
134 North Main Street
Mansfield, Ohio 44902
(234) 542-4145
♦ Stark County
Stark County Minority
Business Association
222 Market Ave. N
Canton, OH 44702
(330) 458-2083
Cincinnati
■ Hamilton County
The Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce
2303 Gilbert Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
(513) 751-9900
♦ Pike County
The Ohio State University South Centers
1864 Shyville Road
Piketon, Ohio 45661
(513) 751-9900
Cleveland
■ Cuyahoga County
Urban League of Greater Cleveland
2930 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 622-0999
♦ Lorain County
Lorain County Urban League
200 Middle Avenue
Suite 200
Elyria, Ohio 44035
(440) 323-3362
Columbus
■ Franklin County
Columbus Urban League
788 Mount Vernon Avenue
Columbus, Ohio
(614) 372-2358
♦ Athens County
Ohio University Innovation Center
340 West State Street
Athens, Ohio 45701
(614) 372-2358
Dayton
■ Montgomery County
City of Dayton, Human Relations Council
371 West Second Street, Suite 100
Dayton, Ohio 45402
(937) 333-1403
NWO-Toledo
■ Lucas County
3737 W. Sylvania Ave., Suite 247
Toledo, Ohio 43623
(419) 213-3890
Youngstown
■ Trumbull County
BRITE Energy Innovators
125 West Market Street
Warren, Ohio 44481
(330) 779-1859
♦ Mahoning County
Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI)
241 West Federal Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44503
(330) 884-6053